Materials For Mulching (From “The First-Time Gardener: Growing Vegetables”) Garden mulch is important, but which materials are best? This excerpt from Jessica Sowards' "The First-Time Gardener: Growing Vegetables" has the details. 2.7K views PHOTO: Makenzie Evans Photography QuartoKnows What you decide to use to mulch your garden will likely be influenced by your region, budget and the availability of materials. Here are some common options used to cover garden soil: Wood Chips There are entire gardening methods developed around mulching with woods chips. Wood chips are often an economical choice because they can be obtained for free from tree services that will dump a pile of freshly shredded trees at your house. They take at least a season to break down to the point of being usable and are very labor-intensive to move into place. They do add a tremendous amount of nitrogen to the soil as they deteriorate and provide a very solid covering but should be used with awareness and education. Putting wood chips on the garden before they are broken down, especially mixing them into the soil, can cause severe imbalances in the soil and cause plants to suffer.